Study Finds Racial and Economic Disparities in Personal Care Product Safety

A new study from researchers at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and Rutgers School of Public Health finds that Black women, middle-aged adults, and lower-income consumers are more likely to use personal care products with high hazard scores in the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep® database, exposing them to potentially harmful chemicals at higher rates than other groups.

The findings, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, provide a detailed examination of specific personal care products used, the chemicals they contain, and the factors influencing product selection. The study was led by a team of researchers who have been investigating how chemicals in everyday products—from soap and shampoo to perfume and body lotions—may impact human health. Their research sheds light on why more information and further studies are needed to reduce exposure to harmful ingredients and promote safer alternatives.

Researchers analyzed data from 593 adults who reported the specific products they had used in a 24–48 hour period, and used Skin Deep, which rates products on a scale of 1 (least hazardous) to 10 (most hazardous), to determine the product hazard scores.

Key findings include:

• Black women were nearly twice as likely as white women to use hair products with high hazard scores, exposing them to endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can interfere with hormones and reproductive health.
• Age also played a role in product risk. Middle-aged adults aged 40–59, had the highest overall hazard scores, largely due to the use of anti-aging beauty products, which often contain ingredients linked to health concerns.
• Younger participants aged 18–29, favored perfumes and colognes with the highest hazard scores, which can contain hundreds of chemicals not listed on ingredient labels. Grouped under the umbrella words “fragrance,” “parfum,” or “aroma,” these mixtures can include endocrine-disrupting chemicals like phthalates.

Financial barriers contribute to these disparities. High-hazard products are more commonly sold in lower-income neighborhoods, where safer alternatives are often harder to find or more expensive.

“Consumers deserve to know what is in the products they use every day, so they can take steps to reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals,” said Adana Llanos, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and co-leader of the Cancer Population Science Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University. “Access to information is critical, but the burden shouldn’t fall entirely on individuals. Companies and regulators must take responsibility to ensure that all products on the market are safe.”

Llanos, who has studied the link between personal care products and cancer risk, found a striking pattern in a prior study: Black women who used darker shades of hair dye had a higher risk of breast cancer, while White women who used chemical relaxers also showed an increased risk. This revelation sparked a deeper investigation into how the chemicals in hair dyes, relaxers, and other beauty products could contribute to health disparities.

“Many people assume personal care products are thoroughly tested for safety, but that’s simply not the case,” said Emily Barrett, Ph.D., professor and director of epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. “Many of these chemicals have been linked to health risks, including reproductive issues and certain cancers.” 

“There’s very little oversight or testing to ensure that the chemicals in personal care products won’t harm consumers in the long run. Our study reinforces the urgent need for stronger regulations and greater transparency in the beauty industry,” added Barrett.

“These findings highlight a major gap in consumer safety,” said Alexa Friedman, Ph.D., a senior scientist at EWG. “Many personal care products—especially those marketed to Black women—contain chemicals linked to hormone disruption and reproductive health risks.

“Studies show that repeated exposure to mixtures of chemicals can pose far greater health risks than exposure to a single ingredient,” added Friedman. “People are exposed to complex mixtures of ingredients that can disrupt hormones, interfere with fertility and increase the risk of cancers and other serious issues.” 

Missing Products

Of the 9,349 unique personal care products reported by participants, only 68 percent matched to the Skin Deep database, leaving a large information gap for many products used by diverse consumers.

“This raises concerns about equal access to safety information,” said Hong Lin, an EWG scientist. “We’ve made it a priority to add more products marketed to Black women to Skin Deep, but we know there’s still more work to do to capture what is actually being sold.”

“Many hair products are missing from databases like Skin Deep, making it harder for people to make informed choices. We’ve been working to close this gap, adding over 25,000 products overall—including 4,000 new products marketed to Black women in 2024,” said Friedman.

Look for Lower Hazard Products

“Making safer choices does not have to mean replacing everything all at once,” said Lin. “Small changes such as swapping out one everyday product for a safer alternative can be a simple way to start reducing exposure to harmful chemicals.”

The study also found that consumers who actively sought out safer products—by using ingredient-checking apps like EWG’s Healthy Living app or reading labels in databases like Skin Deep—were more likely to choose lower-risk options. This highlights the impact of consumer awareness on exposure to harmful chemicals.

Consumers can also choose products bearing the EWG Verified® mark, which are free from chemicals of concern and meet EWG’s strictest standards for health.